The Ultimate #ONTARIO Playlist

Here it is folks! What you’ve all been waiting for, right?

I appealed to you for true-blue Ontario music, and boy oh boy, did you deliver. In the comments and across Twitter, I received several hundred suggestions for all your favorite quintessential Ontario songs. In the name of authenticity and research, I listened to every song individually, then deliberated for days–there were some tough choices.

Remember, for a song to make the list it had to either: ONE, Mention Ontario (or something or some place in Ontario), and TWO, Be written and/or performed by somebody from Ontario. Lastly, I had to like the song, and let me tell you, when it comes to music, I am très picky.

Still, I’m impressed that you got me to listen to (and like) some country music, among other genres. Overall, I do declare that Ontario’s homegrown music is rather diverse: you can find pretty much anything you want, written or inspired by every corner of this massive province. In the end, I whittled down my options to just 40 songs–a strong and eclectic playlist that provides the perfect soundtrack to my array of memories of my time spent traveling here.

Now that I’ve left Ontario, these songs will serve me as a strong souvenir. I thank all of you for your hundreds of suggestions and so many introductions to new and wonderful bands. Thank you, thank you–I couldn’t have done it without you.

And so, without further ado, here is the ultimate #ONTARIO playlist:

Andrew’s Ultimate #ONTARIO Playlist

1. Lakes of Canada                                     The Innocence Mission
2. Bobycaygeon                                           The Tragically Hip
3. Pulling on a Line                                    Great Lake Swimmers
4. Lean on Your Peers                               Blackie & The Rodeo Kings
5. Rosy and Grey                                        Lowest of the Low
6. Lakeside Park                                         Rush
7. Helpless                                                   Neil Young
8. Blue-eyed Baby                                      Kirsten Scholte
9. One More Colour                                   Jane Siberry
10. Rocks and Trees                                     The Arrogant Worms
11. Civil Twilight                                          Weakerthans
12. World of Wonders                                 Bruce Cockburn
13. Sudbury Saturday Night                       Stompin’ Tom Connors
14. Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerland     Gordon Lightfoot
15. Somebody Somewhere                         Platinum Blonde
16. Castles in the Sand                                Philosopher Kings
17. Escarpment Blues                                 Sarah Harmer
18. Spadina Bus                                           The Shuffle Demons
19. Sunday Morning                                   K-OS
20. I’m With You                                         Avril Lavigne
21. Hasn’t Hit Me Yet                                Blue Rodeo
22. Hundred Million People                    Treble Charger
23. Forests and Sands                               Camera Obscura
24. Water Moves Me                                 Katherine Wheatley
25. Hockey Skates                                      Kathleen Edwards
26. Neighborhood #1                                Arcade Fire
27. Slow Train                                            Breit Brothers
28. My Baby Loves . .                               Moxy Fruvous
29. Highway of Heroes                            The Trews
30. Northern Wish                                   Rheostatics
31. Pine for Cedars                                  Dan Mangan
32. Suburban Plains                                Enter the Haggis
33. Lonely Boy                                          Paul Anka
34. Uninvited                                            Alanis Morrisette
35. Today Is Your Day                            Shania Twain
36. High Places                                        Leahy
37. Josefin’s Waltz                                  Natalie MacMaster
38. Life is a Highway                              Tom Cochrane
39. White Rose                                        Fred Eaglesmith
40. The Black Fly Song                          Wade Hemsworth